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31st
March 2017 – I noted my first Holly Blue butterfly of the year near the
memorial garden in Ross-on-Wye not far from the Hope and Anchor public house

28th
March 2017 – The first Chiffchaff of the year in my garden today and he
was singing.

24th
March 2017 – Chiffchaffs and Greenfinches were singing along the River
Wye between the rowing club and Wilton Bridge.Two Goosanders were on the river.

21st
March 2017 – Another Chiffchaff was singing near the Rope Walk
today.There seems to be several
territories between the rowing club and Wilton Bridge.

18th
March 2017 – There were two different Chiffchaffs singing near Wilton
Bridge today and the Long-tailed Tits are still building their nest. Of note
over the past few days, I have heard several Greenfinch singing along the Rope
Walk near the rowing club.This is
of note from a species which is declining nationally.

17th
March 2017 – No hirundines were seen this
lunchtime at Wilton Bridge but a Buzzard was noted soaring over.

16th
March 2017 – It was a dull but dry day.I logged my first Sand Martin at Wilton
Bridge, Ross-on-Wye today and nearby a Long-tailed Tit was building a
nest.

15th
March 2017 – There were seven Goosander noted on the River Wye at
Ross-on-Wye this morning although it was a very foggy dawn.A Chiffchaff was singing near the rowing
club.

I
saw four species of raptor from or in a Milkwall
garden this afternoon.There was Sparrowhawk that comes through the garden and sometimes
spends time perched in one of the trees.In addition and in the distance, I logged three different Buzzards, a
Goshawk and a Kestrel.

14th
March 2017 – I noted only one Goosander on the River Wye at Ross-on-Wye
this morning on a short walk.No
doubt there are others of this species in the general area.

13th
March 2017 – I saw my first butterfly of the year, a Small Tortoiseshell,
on the bank of the River Wye near Wilton Bridge on a bright and mild day after
overnight frost.

12th
March 2017 – At RSPB Naghead around lunchtime
there was a very grey female Fallow Deer on the Gloucestershire Way and it was joined
by at least 3 others later when I was walking back.There were several frogs and toads on
the paths near the information centre.These were middle sized individuals and I suspect that they were
offspring from last year.

I checked Cannop Ponds for early hirundines
but found none.Of note was a
fishing Cormorant which is unusual there.

At a Milkwall Garden there were at least 9 Chaffinch in a flock
but they were dispersed by a Sparrowhawk passing
through.

9th
March 2017 – There were many Red Kites around Gigrin
Farm near Rhayader during the middle of the afternoon
when I passed by which is not surprising as the farm feeds them at this time.

4th
March 2017 – I briefly checked the southern pond at Cannop
this afternoon at 1730.Of note
were many Mandarin Ducks.

2nd
March 2017 – I found a minimum of 27 Bewick’s
Swans at WWT Slimbridge today. 5 were in a roadside
field and the rest were on the Dumbles.These are the remaining birds which have
still to commence their spring migration.

20th
February 2017 – Both Buzzards and Goshawks were displaying over Chase
Hill near Ross-on-Wye today.

19th
February 2017 – At WWT Slimbridge there were
still the majority of the wintering Bewick’s
Swan flock still present.There
were at least 20 Avocets which have returned to the site for breeding and
several pairs of Oystercatchers and a Goshawk flew low of the Dumbles at lunchtime.

18th
February 2017 – A Little Egret was in the brook by the rowing club at
Ross-on-Wye.

14th
February 2017 – At WWT Slimbridge there were
still over 140 Bewick’s Swans present. Many
were asleep for most of the time that I was there.This is classic pre-migratory
behaviour.I scanned the Dumbles very carefully from the Holden Tower to try to find
the reported Lapland Bunting but I was unable to find it.There were, however, quite a number of
Meadow Pipits present.

13th
February 2017 – I had a day out at WWT Steart
near Bridgewater.Birds seen
included Grey Plover and many Stonechats around the reserve.For the first time this year, I noted
Skylarks singing from high up in the sky. There were lots of Shelduck, Lapwing and Redshank with a few Black-tailed
Godwits.This reserve seemed to be
very good and has lots of promise as it matures.I need to visit again to see some of the
areas that I could not cover today.It is a big reserve.

1st
February 2017 – A Little Egret was high up in a Horse Chestnut tree in Greytree Road, Ross-on-wye.

26th
January 2017 – On the lower part of the Bixslade
Valley near Cannop there was a flock of 5 Bullfinch
flying about.

Two Great
Spotted Woodpeckers were in a garden at Milkwall in
the afternoon.

At Cannop Ponds in the late afternoon, the southern pond was
partially frozen over but there were 55 Mandarin Ducks near the outfall.

25th
January 2017 – Again there was freezing fog at dawn.3 Little Egrets were on Rudhall Brook and there were 25 Goosander on the river
between the town and Wilton Bridge.Later in the day there was only one Goosander present. There were many
Blackbirds, Redwings and one Fieldfare on the riverside near the bridge in the
morning. A Muntjac Deer was on the road north of Lea
late this evening.

24th
January 2017 – There was freezing fog at dawn.There were 17 Goosander on the River Wye
at Ross-on-Wye.The Grey Heron was
on the roof of the swimming pool again.

23rd
January 2017 – I went to WWT Slimbridge
today.I managed to get some good Bewick’s Swan bill pattern photographs for the
record.The highlights of the trip
were a Little Stint on the Rushy Pen which gave
excellent views in the sunshine and was a beautiful little bird.Later, a Marsh Harrier flew north over
the Dumbles which I found from the Holden Tower.

20th
January 2017 – Today I went to Red Kite feeding station near Usk Reservoir.It was a very good spectacle with the birds being very close to the
hides and it is a very good site for photography.It was a bright, sunny but very cold day
and thus the light was good for taking pictures.An excellent day.

19th
January 2017 – I have been under the weather with flu-like symptoms for
the past two weeks and thus have nothing to report because I have not been out
in the field from 5th January until today. Today I noted a Grey
Heron standing on the roof of the swimming pool at Ross-on-Wye.I think that it is using this spot as a
vantage point to watch the many fish which are in the brook which runs at the
back of the pool.It must be easy
pickings for this bird as the many fish reported late last year are still there
in numbers.

5th
January 2017 – I made a short trip to Cinderford
to try to find the reported Waxwing.I found at least 15 birds near a local supermarket.They were feeding on Rowan berries but
they were of the pink variety.

4th
January 2017 – The highlight of my walk along the River Wye at
Ross-on-Wye was a Kingfisher near the rowing club and a Little Egret was just
down river from that club.

3rd
January 2017 – On my walk along the River Wye at Ross-on-Wye, I counted
at least 8 Goosander on the river but there may have been more as they were
very mobile. Later in the day, I noted a Goshawk over Penyard
Hill seen from my H.Q. window.

2nd
January 2017 – I only went out for a short walk today but there were 2
Cormorants on the River Wye at Ross-on-Wye as I passed and a Pied Wagtail was
scurrying around the main shopping street (Broad Street).It appeared to be dodging cars and
pedestrians.

1st January 2017 – Happy New Year
to all of my readers. It rained nearly all of the daylight hours.The first bird of the year was a Carrion
Crow seen from the window of my H.Q.I passed the southern pond at Cannop later in
the day and the highlight there was a Little Grebe which was an unusual species
on this pond.